Bonded fleece laminated cushioning insole



Dec. 22, 1959 w. M. SCHOLL BONDED FLEECE LAMINATED CUSHIONING INSOLE Filed March 27, 1956 IN V EN TO'R.

WlLLIAM M. SCHOLL ATTORNEYS United States Patent BONDED FLEECE LAMINATED CUSHIONING INSOLE William M. Scholl, Chicago, Iii.

Application March 27, 1956, Serial No. 574,210

2 Claims. (Cl. 28--80) This invention relates to improvements in a laminated cushion insole and a method of making the same, and more particularly to the type of insole adapted for free disposition in an article of footwear as a means of cushioning and alleviating shock to the foot of a user, although the invention may have other uses and purposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

The instant application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application entitled Composite Laminated Fleece and Rubber Cushion Insole, filed September 28, 1954, Serial No. 458,791, now abandoned.

Insoles of the type that are freely positioned within articles of footwear have been heretofore designed and constructed for many different purposes and to meet many different circumstances and provide many different characters of relief to the foot of the user. In some cases, insoles of fleece or similar material are highly desirable. In the past, such insoles have been made and utilized, particularly to provide a combination of warmth and cushioning benefit to the foot. However, these formerly known fleece insoles or linings were not as durable and long lived as is desired, since the fleece frequently wore thin or completely through at different locations where pressure was predominant, and the fleece tended to compact in very short order so that its cushioning function was eliminated shortly after use began. Further, fleece alone would not repel moisture from a source outside the shoe, and in many cases did not give a desired degree of resiliency or cushioning action to the foot of the user. In addition, extreme difiiculty was experienced heretofore in the construction of a desirable cushioning insole which was not permanently fastened in an article of footwear, in order to cause that insole to maintain its proper position within the shoe, and not tend to wrinkle or slip thereby creating a fold or jamming in the footwear to the great discomfort of the user.

Certain attempts have been made in the past to provide a laminated insole having a surface of fleece on one side by securing the fleece to a backing element, and gluing that backing element to some other lamination of cushioning material. This resulted in providing an air impervious sole that would not breathe when in use, and one which could not be laundered and cleansed when desired.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention to provide an insole of composite laminated construction, including a layer of fleece backed by a resilient rubber-like layer of material.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an insole having a fleece'like material for contact by the foot of the user, which material is backed by a highly resilient layer of different material, the resilient layer eliminating the tendency of the fleece-like layer to compact, and materially prolonging the effective life of the fleece-like layer.

A further feature of the instant invention resides in the provision of a composite laminated insole comprising a layer of fleecy material bonded to a layer of highly resilient material such as foam latex in such a manner that the whole structure is air pervious and may breathe during use.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide a laminated insole including a fleecy layer and a highly resilient rubber-like layer so constructed that the entire insole is air pervious, and yet the rubber-like layer resists the entrance of outside moisture to the fleecy layer.

A further and important object of the instant inven tion resides in the provision of a laminated insole comprising a fabric carrying a fleecy surface with the fleece fibers woven into the fabric, and a foam latex lamination cured directly to the reverse side of the fabric in a manner to penetrate the fabric and definitely lock the fleecy fibers in position against accidental removal.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a new and novel method of making a laminated cushion type insole.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a new and novel method of making a laminated cushion type insole embodying a layer of fabric carrying a fleecy surface on one side, with a foam latex layer cured directly to the fabric in a manner to lock the fleece fibers in position, whereby the laminated structure may be made up in the form of large sheets, insoles stamped directly from the sheets, and the fleecy fibers along the edges will not pull out nor will the fabric unravel at the edges.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a magnified fragmentary vertical sectional view of a fabric carrying fleecy fibers mainly on one side thereof, showing the fabric in inverted or upside down position;

Figure 2 is a magnified fragmentary vertical sectional View illustrating the application of foam latex or the equivalent in an uncured state to the fabric;

Figure 3 is also a magnified fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating a further step in the making of the instant invention;

Figure 4 is a magnified fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the completion of the laminated structure in sheet form;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the sheet of laminated material, indicating how insoles may be severed therefrom; and

Figure 6 is a top plan view, with parts broken away to illustrate structure therebeneath, of the finished insole.

As shown on the drawings:

Preferably the fleece utilized in one lamination of the instant invention is wool or shearling wool fleece. However, it is to be distinctly understood that where the terms wool and fleece are used herein and in the appended claims, the same are to be construed as including not only natural wool but also fibers made of other materials including thermoplastic fibers such as nylon and other artificial or chemically created fibers.

*In Fig. 1 I have illustrated the fleecy layer utilized in the manufacture of the instant insole. This fleecy layer includes a fabric 1 which carries mainly on one side thereof wool fleece 2. Of course the fleece is materially thicker than the fabric itself and when incorporated in the fabric provides a cushioning material having an open softness to give adequate warmth as well as a cushioning action by virtue of its inherent resiliency and restorative powers.

The fabric utilized with its fleece surface is already known, and comprises a fabric preferably knitted on the order of 'stockinet material, and during the knitting of the fabric wool tufts arepicked up by the needles and stitch-locked directly into the fabric. Due to the stitchlocking, there will be tracesof the fibers on the reverse side of the fabric as indicated at 3 in the drawing.

In the making of the instant insole, the fabric is preferably spread flat in sheet form with the fleecy side down as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. That leaves tl e cleaner side of the fabric uppermost, and on-this cleaner side uncurved foam latex 4 may be distributed inany suitable manner such as with the aid of a nozzle or hopper 5 diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2. At the time of application to the cleaner side of the fabric, the foam latex is on the order of whipped cream, and is in a semialiquid condition, and so soaks into the fabric, preferably to an extent more than half way through the fabric itself.

After the application of asupply of latex which will be generally in the pile form as indicated at 4 in Fig. 2, a suitable doctor blade or the equivalent 6 may be used to spread the uncured latex foam into an even layer 7 of desired thickness over the fabric as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3. The soaking of the latex into the fabric will occur upon application, during doctoring, and during later movement into the curing oven or the like, so that by the time the latex is cured or vulcanized directly to the reverse side of the fabric, the soaking has been completed to the desired extent. After a smooth layer of predetermined thickness of latex has been provided in the manner above described, the entire structure is then heated in an oven or by other means to a temperature between 220 and 300 F. to cure or vulcanize the latex.

This curing of the latex directly to the fabric, with the latex at least partially soaked through the fabric, results in firmly bonding the wool fibers to the fabric. Obviously, all portions of the fibers showing on the cleaner side of the fabric by virtue of being stitch-locked to the fabric will be firmly anchored and embedded within the latex, as will be a goodly portion of the fabric itself, so that all parts of the wool fibers coming in contact with the fabric itself are securely anchored by embedment in the cured foam latex lamination.

Since foam latex contains numerous minute intercornmunicating cells, the entire laminated sheet is air porous.

The resultant laminated sheet, generally indicated by numeral 8 in Fig. 5, may then be stamped or die cut into the individual insoles around lines of cut indicated by numeral 9. Since the wool fibers are firmly anchored in the cured latex, and the threads going to make up the fabric are also anchored in the latex in similar manner, die cutting from the sheets results in clean finished insoles from which the fibers cannot be pulled out without'destruction, and the fabric itself will not tend to unravel at the edges.

Heretofore where attempts have been made to unite a fleecy fabric to a lamination of some other material by means of glue or the like, the die cutting process could not be utilized due to unraveling of the fabric at the edges and the fact that the fleecy fibers were easily pulled out especially along the edges.

The glue also prevented the laminated structure from breathing by making it air impervious. In such attempts, additional means such as binding, stitching, and the like, had to be resorted to in order to prevent the pulling out of the fibers or the unraveling of the fabric holding the fibers. These additional steps are clearly eliminated by virtue of the instant invention.

The resultant insole is somewhat diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 6 showing the layer of fleece 2 at one end, the fabric 1, and the latex layer 7 on the bottom. Obviously it will not be possible after the formation of the laminated sheet to separate the different layers of material as they are illustrated in Fig. 6, this figure'being for illustrative purposes only.

The resultant insole is usually disposed in a shoe or other article of footwear with the latex lamination downward against the built-in insole of the shoe. In that position, the latex prevents any outside moisture entering the shoe from reaching the fleece in most cases, and yet breathing of the insole is possible by virtue of the intercommunicating cells of the latex and the porosity of the fabric and fleece. cushion backing for the fleece layer, whereby the fleece layer does not tend to compact and its life is greatly prolonged in its useful state. As a result,-the composite insole affords warmth and cushioning comfort to the user, and the employment of the instant method results in very economical manufacture.

t will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A composite laminated insole for disposition in'an article of footwear, including an air pervious fabric carrying a relatively thick layer of matted fleece on one face thereof, said fleece being stitch-locked in tufts to said fabric whereby portions of the fleece extend through the fabric and are exposed on the reverse side of the fabric, and a layer of rubber-like cushioning material having intercommunicating cells therein and in which said. fleece portions and at least a part of the fabric are embedded cured directly to the fabric and overlying the reverse face thereof.

2. An insole for free disposition in an article of footwear, comprising a bottom layer of foam latex having intercommunicating cells so as to be air pervious, and a top layer of matted wool fleece stitch-locked in a stretchable and air pervious fabric, said fleece being primarily on one side of said fabric, said latex layer being secured directly to the other side of said fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,400,487 Clark May 21, 1946 2,567,951 Lewis Sept. 18, 1951 2,630,619 Schmidt et al. Mar. 10, .1953 2,6 8,619 Alderfer Aug. ll, 1953 2,737,702 Schmidt et al Mar. .13, .1956

The latex layer also affords a 

